But the New Testament does not make a big deal out of the Age of the Earth 

by Peter Milford

...

The issue of the age of the earth parallels circumcision. In my experience, the first response from Christians who do not accept the age of the earth that the Scriptures indicate, is to say something like The New Testament does not make a big deal out of the age of the earth or It is not the purpose of the Bible to give the age of the earth. Their point is that (1) the issue of the age of the earth is a non-essential, and (2) therefore not something we should argue about. They believe we are free to hold whatever view our conscience permits. They are right in the first part. In and of itself, the age of the earth is not a central focus of Scripture. But the distortions a long-age view brings to the gospel message make them wrong on the second part...

God is not bound by time. Time is defined as the change of the physical objects in relation to other physical objects; therefore, because nothing that was made was made without Him we can safely say that TIME is a created thing.

Therefore, if time is created, God must be outside of it. (Although this does not preclude Him permeating it.)

41
posted on 03/26/2009 9:34:15 PM PDT
by OneWingedShark
(Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)

2 Peter 3:8 — But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

This means that God is eternal, as such He is outside of time.

I was rather hasty in calling you a fool because I was angry; it seemed to me that you were not trying to talk about the thing/idea, but merely tell me that I am wrong.

Let me put it this way: I believe God is greater than time, if He were to tell me “The six days were simply a euphemism.” I would nod and accept it. If He told me “Those were literally 24-hour days.” I would accept that too.

Now, right there I know you’re dying to jump on me and say “But He DID say it right there in Genesis!” but the narrative text can be read figuratively, just like the phrase “In the day of King Darius...” does not refer to a single 34-hour day but “the time when he was around/in power” like the saying “Back in my day...” means a time-period not a literal 24-hr day. Since this can be so clearly seen in the linguistics of English, which ‘day’ tends to be more literal (but is not necessarily so) how then can you argue that the Hebrew word used, “yom” which means period/age/day MUST mean a 24-hour day?

46
posted on 03/26/2009 10:20:12 PM PDT
by OneWingedShark
(Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)

God is eternal whether he is outside of time or not. Just because God is eternal it does not mean that his statement in Exodus or the account in Genesis is not to be taken literally.

Frankly what I find interesting is the way people go out of their way to insist first that God did not create the world in six days and then as time goes on they begin to doubt the whole idea of creation and buy into the whole idea that the universe is self existent and that God had nothing to do with his own creation.

The fact of the matter is that when you read the Exodus account and the Genesis story, it is clear that God intended to convey the idea that while he could have created the whole universe in a nanosecond, he took HIS time and did it in 6 days.

Foolish? Perhaps.

(1Co 2:14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1Co 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

God is not bound by time. Time is defined as the change of the physical objects in relation to other physical objects; therefore, because nothing that was made was made without Him we can safely say that TIME is a created thing. Therefore, if time is created, God must be outside of it. (Although this does not preclude Him permeating it.)

Agreed. For a real mind-bender, let's ask "how long did God exist before creating the universe, earth, etc?"

If I might ask, have you allegorized the creation story sufficiently in your mind that you believe (based on the evidence of dry bones), that man was not a special creation of God, but that he descended from lower forms of life and ultimately from some simian non-human ancestor?

Do you believe that despite what is stated in Genesis and Exodus and the clear statements of Jesus on the subject, that man is, in fact, the product of a natural evolutionary process?

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